Goodbye, church… Hello, Wellness Industrial Complex! : It’s Been a Minute

Is wellness a new spirituality?

Ezra Shaw/Nicky J Sims/Thomas Samson/AFP/guenterguni/Getty Images

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Ezra Shaw/Nicky J Sims/Thomas Samson/AFP/guenterguni/Getty Images

Is wellness a new spirituality?

Ezra Shaw/Nicky J Sims/Thomas Samson/AFP/guenterguni/Getty Images

America is a deeply spiritual nation. Over 70% of us say that we feel spiritual in some way. But – at the same time – we’re getting less religious. So for people who are spiritual-but-not-religious – what’s replacing organized religion? What do they believe – and where does that show up in their day-to-day lives? In our new series called Losing My Religion, It’s Been a Minute is going to find out.

This week, we’re getting into wellness. It’s a global industry worth 6 trillion dollars that’s starting to encompass all kinds of things – including spirituality: from the spirituality of wellness practices like yoga and reiki, to treating wellness itself like a religion. Brittany is joined by Alyssa Bereznak, wellness editor for the LA Times, and Rina Raphael, author of the book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, to get into what people get out of a wellness-based spiritualism.

This episode was produced by Liam McBain. It was edited by Neena Pathak. Our Supervising Producer is Barton Girdwood. Our Executive Producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of Programming is Yolanda Sangweni.